Portalstuck
by shikaandshiro
Summary: Your name is Karkat Vantas. You're not sure where you are right now, or what's going on. This isn't a normal situation for a troll of eight solar sweeps. But you've been asleep for a long time. It's time to wake up now.
1. Begin Adventure

**Portalstuck**

_Your name is Karkat Vantas. You're not sure where you are right now, or what's going on. This isn't a normal situation for a troll of eight solar sweeps. But you've been asleep for a long time. It's time to wake up now._

The walls and ceiling in the room were clear, but there was nothing interesting in the surrounding area. The room was completely bare except for a couple pieces of furniture, a radio, and the bed in which he was resting.

"Oh, good, you're awake. I was afraid you might have died in your sleep."

The monotone voice that came seemingly out of nowhere surprised him and he jumped, landing on the floor.

"Who the hell are you?" he asked, searching for the voice's owner, though no one else was around.

"You talk?"

"Of course I talk, stupid. Why wouldn't I? I was just silent because I was taking a nice nap up until recently when you decided to scare the shit out of me."

"You have an awfully foul mouth. And I don't think 'nap' is the word you're looking for. You've actually been asleep for quite a while."

"What are you talking about? It's only been a few hours!"

The exasperated sigh that followed his statement was a sign that he had one and he crossed his arms over his chest, a triumphant smirk forming on his face. It was at this point that he noticed his usual choice of clothing was gone. However, he couldn't complain much about his new clothes, as they were rather comfortable, styled like a track suit, colored gray, and the Cancer symbol was still present. The same could not be said for whatever was on his legs.

"Do you like it? It was made especially for you."

"... Yeah, I guess. But what the fuck are these things on my feet?"

"Long Fall Boots. They still need to be tested, so I figured I would give them to my newest subject."

Karkat raised an eyebrow at the word "subject".

"What do you mean 'subject'? Who are you and what am I doing here?"

"You may call me GlaDOS. And you're here to be tested on. Simple as that."

"Hey, whoa, wait a minute, I don't remember giving you permission to test on me. Don't you need a contract or something from me in order to do that?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest again.

"No. That's the thing; I don't need anything from you to use you as a test subject. Besides, you were wandering around on my property, so I have the right to take you in and use you for whatever I want." GlaDOS responded.

"On your property? I was in the city! How is that your property?"

* * *

><p>"You guys are so slow! You'll never catch up to me!"<p>

"Dammit, Terezi, slow down!"

"Never!"

Karkat hurried along behind Terezi, who was far ahead of the group. She had initiated a race only seconds before and was currently in the lead. Karkat was trying to keep everyone together, but so far that wasn't working out. Sollux was lagging far behind, probably on purpose. At least Aradia was doing what she was supposed to, and Tavros and Gamzee were attempting to catch up.

"Sollux, at least _try _and keep up with us!" Aradia called back to him.

"Don't feel like running." he murmured. "Keep going, I'll be right behind you."

She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know what's wrong with him. He's been moody and depressed for a long time now. It's like he can't be bothered to even pretend to be happy."

"Probably his mood swings starting to take a toll on him. Or maybe he's finally decided to stick with one emotion and it just wasn't the one we were hoping for." Karkat said.

Up ahead, Terezi had finally stopped in front of what looked like a tollbooth.

"Oh thank God, she finally stopped." Karkat began to slow down a little. "Hey, Gamzee, Tavros, hurry up!"

"You guys are the ones with two good legs, dunno what you're yelling at us for."

"Because you're behind! Gamzee, you're as tall as a fucking tree, put those long legs of yours to good use!"

Karkat almost felt bad for yelling at them, what with Tavros being in a wheelchair and all, but Gamzee was fast. They should have caught up by now. Once he and Aradia reached the tollbooth, he stood next to Terezi.

"So what is it?" he asked.

It took her a minute to answer; "Looks like the main entrance to a company headquarters or something." She shrugged. "Looks pretty official to me."

"Alright, so what were you standing here so long for? Obviously we can't go inside, so let's just turn around and leave."

"What do you mean we can't go inside? They build these things so cars can't get through. People can duck underneath that little bar easy. Plus there's no one in the booth. So let's go."

She started forward.

"Isn't this breaking your moral code or something? It's trespassing, isn't it?" Karkat asked her, still not convinced that they should go inside.

"Not if it's abandoned," Terezi answered. "Look at this place. The parking lot's empty, the booth is empty, I highly doubt there's anyone inside the building it probably leads to."

"Come on, Karkat, I bet this'll be fun," Aradia said, following Terezi's lead. "A little adventure never hurt anyone, right?"

"Great, not you too." Karkat mumbled. "Fine, fine, wait for the other three to get here and let's take a vote."

"What are we, uh, voting on?" he heard Tavros ask, and turned to find him and Gamzee there. Sollux was close behind them.

"Took you two long enough. You too, Sollux."

"Nah, man, you're just impatient." Gamzee said.

"Whatever!" Karkat's patience was wearing thin at the moment. "And we're taking a vote on who actually wants to go inside this place. Because I sure don't think it's a good idea."

Gamzee and Tavros sided with the girls, leaving Karkat and Sollux outnumbered.

"Ugh, you've got to be fucking kidding me!" Karkat shouted. "You know what, Sollux and I will stay out here. You guys go on inside."

"What is this, some cheesy horror movie? No!" Terezi objected, grabbing his wrist. "Both of you are coming with us."

Karkat was about to argue with her, but found he just wasn't in the mood. He reluctantly let her drag him towards the building, Sollux trudging along behind them. Their adventure was short-lived. Karkat didn't remember much. All he saw was the ground before he blacked out, only heard a few words.

"Karkat!"

"What are thoth thingth?"

* * *

><p>"Well excuse me for passing out somewhere I didn't even want to be because Terezi wanted to go inside and three other people took her side." Karkat said, glad that no one else was around. He must have looked crazy talking to the air. "How did I get in here anyway?"<p>

"Though we typically only use them at the end of testing, I had to get you in here somehow, so a Party Escort Bot arrived to pick you up from where you were." GlaDOS answered. "Now that all your questions have been answered-"

"Hold on," Karkat cut her off. "I still have a lot of questions left. We're not finished here."

"Yes we are," GlaDOS said. "We're finished because I say we are and you're stalling by asking me all of these questions. You have tests to do and I have information to gather. The sooner we finish both of our jobs, the sooner you can leave. Please proceed to Test Chamber One."

"How? In case you didn't notice, I'm trapped in a giant plexiglass box."

"This is where I give you a preview of the technology you'll be using to solve the puzzles in your test chambers."

An orange portal revealing an entrance to the outside appeared on the wall in front of him.

"It won't kill you to step through. You have my word." GlaDOS told him.

"Somehow that's not very reassuring," he murmured, but stepped through regardless. Finding that he was still alive, he started toward Test Chamber One.

**Karkat: Be Aradia**


	2. Karkat: Be Aradia

**Karkat: Be Aradia**

_You are now Aradia Megido. You have just woken up and found that you are no longer laying unconscious on hard concrete, but rather that you have been sleeping on a soft bed. For how long, you are unsure, but someone was kind enough to change you out of your old clothes, which were undoubtedly torn and dirty, and into something reminiscent of a jumpsuit. You believe you like these new clothes, though they lack the long skirt you prefer. The capri pants are a nice change, you suppose, and the whole outfit is a nice shade of red, save for the white shirt visible just below where your jacket cuts off. You are distracted by your own thoughts and don't notice when someone begins speaking to you._

"Are you so poor that you can't even afford the simple clothes that I gave you? You were a mess when you were brought in. Is that what you always wear?"

"Hm?"

Aradia looked up from staring at the sleeve of her jacket. There was no one else in the room with her so she assumed the voice must have been coming from an intercom somewhere.

"Yes, I always wear those clothes, they were just torn and dirtied in a little skirmish I had with some robots outside. They're usually much cleaner, I assure you," she said, slipping out of the bed.

"So that _was _you that tried to make scrap metal out of the Party Escort Bots that left the facility to retrieve you. Since humans need praise for everything they do, I will go ahead and congratulate you on your work."

"I am not a human," Aradia told the unknown speaker.

"My suspicions have been confirmed," GlaDOS responded. "I thought you might have just been dressed odd, but observing you further proved that such a thing might not be the case. What then, dear Aradia, are you?"

"I am a troll from the planet Alternia," Aradia answered. "And I would like to know what I'm doing here."

"You are here to serve as a test subject. That is your only purpose right now."

"When do I start?"

A momentary silence before she got an answer.

"That's usually not the first response. You're a strange one. Considering you're so eager, you start right now."

"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions along the way?"

"Since you've been compliant, I don't, actually."

"I'll start with the simplest then," Aradia said, stepping outside her room. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

"I am GlaDOS, a machine with artificial intelligence created by humans. I am here to run tests on whatever subjects I can find. I thought I would find humans. It would seem I also found an extraterrestrial species."

"You did," Aradia nodded. "I would also like to know where I am."

"This is a building for the company Aperture Science."

"What will I be testing today?"

"Portal technology."

"Where are my friends?"

"I cannot tell you."

Aradia paused at the last answer. It was the only one that wasn't straightforward.

"Why can't you tell me?"

"It's part of the test. The reward for testing can be changed. Most subjects get a cake and a party upon completion of the testing. You can expect to see your friends again as a reward." GlaDOS answered.

"That seems fair," Aradia said. She stepped into the first testing chamber, in which there was a box and a large red button.

"Let's test the genius of your race. Solve this puzzle right here." GlaDOS' voice rang out from overhead.

"This isn't a trick, right?" Aradia asked her. "A joke test that's more complicated than it seems?"

"Decide for yourself."

Knowing that she wasn't going to get much more help than that, Aradia decided it was best not to waste time. She lifted up the box and placed it on a button, an action that opened a nearby door. The puzzle really was that simple.

"Are they all like this?" she questioned as she walked through and into an elevator.

"Yes, because tests such as that are so challenging." GlaDOS responded.

"Alright, then I should have no trouble getting to my friends."

"Enjoy doing that eighteen different times then."

Aradia shrugged and sat down on the floor of the elevator. Sarcasm had stopped bothering her she heard it so much. In the middle of the next testing chamber, there was a white gun-shaped object on a stand.

"That is the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. It's yours, if you can retrieve it." GlaDOS told her.

Aradia was quite positive that jumping from a ledge at this height would kill her once she hit the floor below. She assumed she was to use the portals on the walls, one colored rust red and the other colored black, to reach it.

**Aradia: Retrieve Handheld Portal Device**


	3. Aradia: Retrieve Handheld Portal Device

**Aradia: Retrieve Handheld Portal Device**

_You step through one portal and arrive at the stand on which the Portal Device sits. This is some very strange technology you are dealing with here. It's probably too complex for you to understand. Perhaps Sollux will tell you how it works once you meet up with him again. The tests so far have been easy. How hard could the next seventeen tests be? But you are wasting time here. You pick up the Portal Device and slip it onto your arm. It has a strange feel, but you figure you'll get used to it. GlaDOS is urging you to move on to the next test with a variety of insults and sarcastic praise. She keeps talking about how she sees no difference between your race and humans. You feel inclined to prove her wrong, and you will do just that._

**Karkat: Quit**


	4. Karkat: Quit

**Karkat: Quit**

_You are so tired of these tests! They're frustrating, and GlaDOS isn't helping with her constant mockery and reminders of how unknowledgeable you are. You feel like slamming this stupid gun down on the ground right now and watching it break into a million little pieces. Perhaps you should just give up. Maybe your blatant refusal to do anything will make her angry and she'll just remove you from this ridiculous "Enrichment Center" so she won't have to put up with you, or maybe she'll just kill you and put you out of your misery. Either way, you'll be happy._

A flustered Karkat tossed his Portal Device off to the side of the platform he was standing on and sat down.

"What are you doing?" GlaDOS asked him.

"Quitting; what does it look like?" he answered, crossing his arms.

"You think you can make me mad this way, don't you? It's not working. You're only proving me right. Your species is no smarter than the average human. You may be even dumber because you've given up on a simple puzzle. I've had robots that weren't even meant for testing do better than this."

Karkat groaned and covered his ears. She was going to go on and on about this and never shut up. God, she was so annoying. He wished he had his sickle with him. He could cut off his ears and maybe he wouldn't have to listen to her ramble anymore. It appeared that his weapon had been confiscated upon being dragged into the facility, however. He moved one hand away to see if she was still talking. She was.

"Oh my God, shut up!" he shouted.

"Does my talking frustrate you? Perhaps I should just speak more then in order to get on your nerves. You know, motivation to keep you going through the tests. Then you'll never be able to get my voice out of your head, even when you leave. It can forever be a reminder of how childish you acted during your time here." she said.

"Argh!"

Karkat aimed his Portal Device at the surface of the deadly water beneath him and fired. He didn't care if nothing happened, this was probably the angriest he'd ever been, and it was towards a machine no less. What he didn't expect was for the portal to create a drain effect.

"Oh, it appears you found a teammate. I thought you would never figure it out." GlaDOS mused.

"What are you talking about?" Karkat asked her, but a voice sounding from below answered his question for him.

"Hey, uh, where did all this, uh, water come from?"

**Years in the Past, Very Many…**


	5. Years in the Past, Very Many

**Years in the Past, Very Many…**

_Four young children wave good-bye to their families. They are going on a short outing with each other and will be home sometime in the afternoon. They've been given a list of the few things to pick up on their way home._

_However, when they return home, they find an unpleasant surprise waiting for them. The inside of their houses has been destroyed, their parents, pets, lying dead on the floor. Tears are shed as they pack away their remaining belongings, comfort exchanged. They have nowhere else to go, so they begin wandering the streets. They make an alleyway their home, share whatever food they can get. People pass by and pay them no mind. Some give sympathetic looks, money, and food. Others do not care._

_A wealthy man and woman pass by, dressed nicely, on a rare journey outside. The woman glances at the children, kneels down to their level. She begins speaking to them, and the man glances at them all curiously. She offers her hands to two of them, and they accept with bright, happy faces. She stands with them, walks toward the man._

"_Can they come with us?" she asks, smiling._

_The man glances at the children, then at her. He thinks his ever-intelligible female companion has made a good choice. He has something in mind for the children, a better fate than others that he picks up off the streets. He nods and allows the young girls to take his hands._

"_You'll be a great asset to the company," he says to the four children with a cheerful grin. "I'll teach you everything there is to know."_

**Karkat: Investigate Voice**


	6. Karkat: Investigate Voice

**Karkat: Investigate Voice**

_You recognize that apprehensive, stuttering voice anywhere. It can't be anyone but your friend, Tavros Nitram. You had no idea there was anyone else in this building, let alone someone you actually know. Maybe if he's here, the others are too. But there's not much time to think about it. The portal you put on the floor is flooding a deadly neurotoxin into Tavros' test chamber. You might want to think about saving him._

"Hey, GlaDOS, or whatever the hell your name is! Can't you drain out this nasty water or something? From what I understand, it kills." Karkat said.

"Of course it kills, otherwise this test wouldn't be difficult. I also cannot interfere. You have created an extra challenge for yourself, provided you actually want to save your friends. Otherwise, it's perfectly acceptable for you to let him die." GlaDOS responded.

"Don't, uh, let me die, please!" Tavros called up to him.

"I won't, just hold on! How does this team portals thing work?" Karkat asked, hoping that for once, GlaDOS would be kind enough to give him the answer. No such luck, as his question was met with silence.

"Karkat! Do you, uh, have a, uh, red portal?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Put one near where you are! I think I, uh, have this figured out!"

Having no time to argue and no better plan himself, Karkat did as he was asked. He was actually expecting the neurotoxin to flood out, the portal on the floor being colored gray, but instead, Tavros stumbled through onto the platform next to him. Karkat placed another red portal on the ceiling, creating and endless loop of the neurotoxin through the red and gray portals.

"Thanks for, uh, saving me, Karkat." Tavros said with a smile.

"Who knew combined stupidity made genius?" GlaDOS piped up. "Maybe now that the two of you have the option to work together, I won't be treated to hours of you trying to figure out the simplest of puzzles."

"Shut the fuck up," Karkat mumbled.

"No thank you, I'd rather keep talking since, as we both discovered earlier, it annoys you so much. Before either of you move on, let me ask you a question. What year is it?"

Karkat and Tavros exchanged confused looks. They weren't sure why GlaDOS was asking them this question, or what it had to do with anything. They answered nonetheless.

"It's 2007 in earth years," Karkat answered. "What, did you forget the date?"

There was silence, but he could swear he heard a laugh.

"I have not forgotten the date, but you do not know the date." GlaDOS answered. "You two entered stasis in the year 2007. Time has passed since then. Now you've been woken up and it's close to the year 2020."

Silence. The test subjects are being unresponsive.

**GlaDOS: Observe Another Test Subject**


End file.
